Powerlist 2022: Most influential Black Britons revealed

Tech leader Jacky Wright, footballer Marcus Rashford, and actor Michaela Coel have been named as some of the most influential black Britons by the 2022 Powerlist.

The Powerlist is an annual release naming the most influential people of African, African American and African Caribbean heritage in the UK.

Microsoft corporate vice president and chief digital officer Jacky Wright topped the list, followed by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford.

The list’s collators, Powerful Media, said Wright topped the list for the “sheer scale of the work she is doing”. They added that she is “one of a handful of people who are changing the world by bringing the digital revolution to ordinary people all over the planet.”

Wright’s 30-year career has seen her hold senior leadership roles in firms such as BP as well as serving as a chief digital and information officer for HMRC in the UK.

Wright now regularly meets with aspiring tech leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds to support them in their careers.

In a BBC interview after securing the top spot, Wright said: “Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not.

She continued: “I had the burning passion to change the world as I thought about the injustices that occur in life, and the problems we have from an existential perspective. I always wanted to solve problems but I fell into technology and then I realised, technology can help change things.”

She said that technology plays a part in every aspect of our lives, and we all have a responsibility to “help leave the world in a better place than you found it.”

Others named in the top 10 include actors Daniel Kaluuya and Michaela Coel, Netflix’s vice-president of content (UK) Anne Mensah, and Dragon’s Den investor Steven Bartlett.

Human rights lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie, House of Lords life peer Lord Simon Woolley, Public Health England’s London regional director Prof Kevin Fenton, and KPMG partner Richard Iferenta also ranked in the top 10.

The Powerlist 2022 Top 10:

1. Jacky Wright: Chief digital officer and corporate vice-president, Microsoft US

2. Marcus Rashford: Footballer and campaigner

3. Anne Mensah: Vice-president of content (UK), Netflix

4. Daniel Kaluuya: Actor

5. Prof Kevin Fenton: London regional director, Public Health England

6. Steven Bartlett: Founder of Social Chain and Dragons’ Den investor

7. Michaela Coel: Writer and actor

8. Lord Simon Woolley: Life Peer in the House of Lords, co-founder and director of Operation Black Vote, and principal of Homerton College at Cambridge University

9 Richard Iferenta: Partner and vice chair at KPMG

10. Jacqueline McKenzie: Specialist Windrush solicitor and partner, Leigh Day